Your AI agent drifts because nobody gave it a job description

Description and use

AI agents drift when they lack a clear job description. Draft a one‑page duty list, exclusions, escalation contacts, and owner, then review the agent’s actions during probation to prevent drift and maintain trust.

Problem

AI agents drift when deployed without a clear job description, leading to unintended actions and loss of trust.

Outcome

Agents that follow a clear job description remain reliable, avoid drift, and maintain business trust, whereas vague briefs lead to costly mistakes and eventual abandonment.

Workflow

• 1. Draft a one‑page job description: list duties, not‑duties, escalation contact, owner, and review date.
• 2. Deploy the agent with the job description attached to its configuration.
• 3. Log all agent actions in a digest that is reviewed daily or weekly by the owner.
• 4. After the probation period, evaluate: did the agent stay within duties, how many escalations were appropriate, and is trust maintained?
• 5. Decide to confirm, narrow duties, or retire the agent.
• 6. If expanding scope, create a new job description and repeat probation.

Evidence

An agent that does not have a job description will invent one. That is the whole reason agents drift

Source

The fix is not a better model. It is the same discipline you already use for people: defined duties, an escalation path, a probation period with a review date, and one named person who is accountable for it.

Source